Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Having been rather un-crafty in the patriotic department for many years past, THIS year seemed to be the year to step up and actually do something with the kids. I can't take credit for the ideas, because I fiddled with several that I found online. Becca @ The Texas Darlings posted a cute picture of her kids wearing a similar festive hat. The sparkler idea was featured at Crafty Crow today.

In the spirit of being festive, we invited some friends over, the mommies did a bunch of prep work, and we all had fun creating!

1. Cut the garland {or destroy a Dollar Tree centerpiece} to use as decoration for the hat. We used most of the stars for our hats and saved a few along with the other spikey garland to make our sparklers.

2. Cut the foam sheets into 2" strips {if you are using 9x12 sheets this will give you 6 strips when laid horizontally}.

3. Lay the foam strips out on the counter. We patterned them red/white/blue and used a total of 12 for each of the hats.

4. Use duct tape to hold the strips together. We used two strips of duct tape that would show as a 'band' on the outside of the hat and one strip that we folded over the back/inside of the hat.

5. Fringe the tops of the foam strips opposite the duct tape. We made 4 cuts/slits on each foam strip {1/2" apart} and about 4" long.

6. Decorate the hat with stars and the holiday garland. We used duct tape on the inside of the hat to hold the garland in place.

7. Fit the hat to your child's head. Once we knew how big it needed to be, we used another piece of duct tape to seal it.

Another great idea from the folks at Family Fun. I LOVE that magazine. We've done patriotic t-shirts every year. They have gotten tons of compliments on the 4th and all year after. My post at the Homeschool Classroom tomorrow will show how to make two of these All-American t's. Hope you'll check it out. They would compliment your hats perfectly!

These hats and sparkers are sooo CUTE!! We made them last week and my kids wore the hats in a parade. They won a prize and many head turns!! The hats were a huge attraction! Thank you so much for posting these ideas! I just started a blog and I hope to post pictures later today. Stop by www.mommytobandb.blogspot.com

I am a mom to 4 children and wife to a wonderful man. We homeschool all four children, and my days are spent trying to keep up with them all…and the house…and life in general.

My passion is teaching my kids and helping other families in their homeschool journey. Working with children has always
been something I have enjoyed, and I love that the online world has provided a
way to share ideas and resources with other families all over the world. The last few years has brought speaking opportunities at blogging conferences, homeschool groups, and also homeschool conventions.